In the narrow football sense, UTEP right guard Greg Long has beaten the odds to become a starter for the UTEP football team.

In a program that recruits the best and the most on the offensive line, with a coach in Sean Kugler who sets the highest of bars there, in the fourth game of Kugler's fourth season Long became his first-ever true freshman starter when he lined up at right guard against Southern Miss.

A little over a month after declaring him a future star, that future began to arrive for the 6-foot-4, 305-pound mauler out of Eastwood.

The narrow football sense, though, doesn't begin tell the story of all that Long has overcome just be attending UTEP on a scholarship.

When he was a freshman his mother died of an aneurysm, his father passed when he was a sophomore, and Long and his young sister Shyan spent the next three years under the guardianship of the parents of one of his youth football teammates, Diane and Don Spencer.

"It was rough, it was day-to-day," Long said of the emotional trauma of losing his parents. "My sister kept me going, she was the closest person I had. She helped me so much. Our guardians took care of us, they guided us in the right way.

"Going to college is something my mom and dad always wanted for me, to have the best life. I want to make them proud."

When they passed away, "it was heartbreaking, like it was the end of the road," Long said. "My coaches at Eastwood really helped me, they got me back on track and realize what was important. Football helped me channel my emotions. It is a way out."

Long was offered that way out on signing day in 2015, but initially wasn't academically eligible for his athletic scholarship. He spent last year taking classes at UTEP and working toward eligibility, which he did achieve.

"That hurt," Long said of last fall. "Football was my passion, that was an eye opener. It showed me I can't take it for granted, with every opportunity had I had to do it to the best of my ability. All I could do was lift weights on my own, prepare myself mentally and physically."

Through it all, he stayed on track and almost immediately began making an impact at fall camp. Kugler started by raving on his potential while noting he would probably redshirt like every other lineman he'd recruited. By the end of camp all notions of a redshirt season were gone, and by last week his quick rise culminated in his first start against Southern Miss.

"You never want or hope to (start a true freshman), but his talent outpaced the position," Kugler said. "He's getting better, he absorbs things. He's overcome a lot of things off the field and that's helped him on the field. His teammates like him and respect him. He has a lot of maturity."

The current junior leader on the line, Will Hernandez, redshirted his freshman year in 2013 but isn't surprised to see this particular true freshman already cracking the lineup.

"He's a good player, coach made a wise decision," Hernandez said. "From the beginning he was picking up everything. I don't see him as a freshman, I just see him as a good player."

Said redshirt freshman center Darrin Gatewood, who lines up beside him, "I guess I'm a little surprised to see him do it as a true freshman, but he's done really well. He's smart and he's done well."

Kugler said Long fits that profile.

"He's got extreme quickness, he bends well, he's athletic," Kugler said. "The main thing is, he has a lineman's demeanor to get in there and mix it up. I think he'll end up being a left tackle, but right now he's playing the best at right guard. He can play all five positions and that gives you a lot of versatility on the offensive line."

As for the moment, after overcoming so much, Long is trying to enjoy every moment of this big chance in front of him.

"I just want to play to the best of my ability to help our team," he said. "I love the companionship here."

Greg Long

No. 59, 6-foot-4, 305-pound right guard

First true freshman starter in Sean Kugler's fourth year. ... All-City and All-District 1-6A player as senior at Eastwood in 2014. ... Signed with UTEP in 2015 and grayshirted while becoming academically eligible.